Trailing GOP Sen outraises challenger in brutal primary contest

Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn is not bowing out without a fight.

The Texas incumbent, who is seeking a fifth term in 2026, outraised his primary challenger, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, by $1 million during the most recent fundraising quarter. The fundraising haul comes as the Cornyn campaign is working to close the polling gap with Paxton, with the Republican incumbent down by double digits, according to recent surveys.

Cornyn, a prodigious fundraiser, raised $3.9 million over the past three months and has amassed nearly $9 million in the bank. An outside super PAC supporting Cornyn touted an $11 million haul during the same period.

The brutal primary showdown is shaping up to be one of the most expensive primary contests of the midterms. Though Cornyn is viewed as the stronger general election nominee, current polling suggests that Republican voters may prevent him from advancing out of the state’s primary contest.

Paxton, however, trails a generic Democrat candidate in a hypothetical general election matchup, according to a private survey released by a veteran GOP pollster.

Trump’s endorsement could prove decisive, and both candidates are vying for the president’s blessing. The president’s team is waiting to see if Cornyn’s campaign can close the polling gap before making an endorsement, Punchbowl News first reported.

The Cornyn reelection campaign’s growing war chest is likely to be crucial in its quest to erase the incumbent’s polling deficit against Paxton.

The campaign will use its fundraising haul to inform voters of the incumbent’s record and torch Paxton’s reputation. The Cornyn campaign’s negative messaging is likely to include Paxton’s alleged “repeated mismanagement of his office” and “ethical failures,” according to a statement from Cornyn’s re-election campaign manager, Andy Heming, that was sent to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Cornyn campaign is also touting the Texas Republican’s near-100% voting record with the president.

“Senator Cornyn is one of the most effective members of the U.S. Senate and has been a stalwart ally of President Trump, voting more than 99.2% of time with him while President, so it should be no surprise that our re-election campaign would report a strong haul in the 2nd quarter of 2025,” Hemming also said in a statement sent to the DCNF.

Though Paxton’s campaign raised less money during the most recent fundraising quarter, the attorney general’s campaign said the number was “historic” for a primary challenger.

“The grassroots movement to fire John Cornyn continues to grow stronger every single day, and this is only just the beginning,” Paxton’s campaign said in a statement Friday.

The Republican primary field is not yet solidified. Republican Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt, a Houston-based congressman, is flirting with a Senate bid.

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